The 25 Most Iconic Movie Kisses

1. Titanic

Director James Cameron initially planned to cast "an Audrey Hepburn type" to play the female lead in this 1997 epic, and Leonardo DiCaprio nearly turned down his role. It's still captivating to see him woo Kate Winslet's Rose, even if, as DiCaprio said in a recent interview, kissing Kate is "like kissing a family member."

Courtesy Everett Collection

2. Gone with the Wind

"You need kissing badly," Clark Gable, as Rhett Butler, told Vivien Leigh's Scarlett O'Hara in this 1939 epic. "You should be kissed, and often. And by someone who knows how." Later on, while proposing to the twice-widowed Scarlett, he proves he's the man for the job.

Courtesy Everett Collection

3. To Have and Have Not

Truth be told, it's not the kiss that makes this scene from the 1944 film so unforgettable-it's the cool banter between Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall (who fell in love on set). "What'd you do that for?" he asks, after she plants one on him. "Been wondering whether I'd like it," she says.

Courtesy Vestron Pictures/ Everett Collection

4. Dirty Dancing

Another deeply improbable plot--the only person who could fill in at an all-important dance performance was the teenage girl (Jennifer Grey) who could barely tap her toes?--rescued by charm and chemistry. When Johnny (Patrick Swayze) finally took Baby into his arms in this 1987 romance, women everywhere swooned.

Courtesy Everett Collection

5. From Here To Eternity

This sea-soaked embrace was considered quite risqué in 1953, even though the raciest footage ended up on the cutting room floor. What remains is indelible. Deborah Kerr, playing a disaffected army wife, tells her lover (Burt Lancaster), "I never knew it could be like this. Nobody ever kissed me the way you do."

Courtesy New Line/ Everett Collection

6. The Notebook

"It looks great," Rachel McAdams said of the scene in this 2004 film in which she (as Allie) and Ryan Gosling (as Noah) finally come together. "We did a lot of takes in the pelting rain. Nick amp#91;Cassavetes, the directoramp#93; said, 'Try to keep your eyes open when you say, You wrote me?' It was actually hurting...But it was totally worth it."

Courtesy Everett Collection

7. Lady and the Tramp

She was the original uptown girl; he was a lovable drifter. But when these two crazy pups came together over a very long piece of spaghetti in this 1955 animated film, it was forever.

Courtesy Everett Collection

8. Breakfast at Tiffany's

Truman Capote's original 1958 novella wasn't exactly a love story, so the author was less than thrilled with the 1961 big screen adaptation. (For one thing, he'd wanted Marilyn Monroe to play Holly Golightly.) But audiences adored this stylish film, particularly for the final scene, in which Holly (Audrey Hepburn) and Paul (George Peppard) make a rainy New York City alley seem as romantic as any pink-streaked sunset.

Courtesy Everett Collection

9. Romeo and Juliet

Spoiler alert: it doesn't end well for the titular lovers, played in this 1968 version by Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey. But their sad destiny doesn't detract from the beauty of this scene, in which they exchange Romeo's "sin," as they say, from lip to lip.

Courtesy Everett Collection

10. Love Story

In 2010, Ali MacGraw admitted to Oprah that she'd never understood her most famous line: "'Love means never having to say you're sorry'...it makes no sense!" But she did have a grip on what made Ryan O'Neal, her co-star in this 1970 film, so attractive to women: "First of all," she said, "he's a great kisser."

Courtesy Everett Collection.

11. The Way We Were

Opposites attract, at least at first, in this 1973 melodrama about mismatched lovers. The chemistry between Robert Redford and Barbra Streisand-playing Hubbell Gardiner and Katie Morosky-made every on-screen kiss count.

Courtesy Universal Pictures/ Everett Collection.

12. Sixteen Candles

This winning 1984 comedy boasts a plot that's pure teenage fantasy: The handsome crushed-on from afar upperclassman (played by Michael Schoeffling) likes the quirky Sam (Molly Ringwald) too! The romantic high point comes when Sam sees dreamy Jake Ryan waiting for her after her big sister's wedding, but the sweet kiss they share over her long-awaited birthday cake is a very close second.

Courtesy 20th Century Fox Film Corp./ Everett Collection

13. The Princess Bride

Although the grandson in this 1987 film (played by Fred Savage) felt the story featured entirely too much mushy love stuff, Buttercup (Robin Wright) and Westley (Cary Elwes) are still adorable to watch. Our favorite moment? The post-tumble nuzzle they shared when Buttercup learned that her Westley wasn't dead after all.

20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection

14. Say Anything

Incredibly, John Cusack almost refused his role in this 1989 movie, though it's impossible to imagine anyone else playing hopeless romantic Lloyd Dobler. "We fell in love in a friendship way [while shooting the film]," Ione Skye said of her co-star. "I think you can see that."

Courtesy Columbia/ Everett Collection

15. When Harry Met Sally

This 1989 comedy made numerous witty contributions to the romantic lexicon-and kickstarted a (still-raging) debate as to whether men and women could "really" be friends-but it was the pair's New Year's Eve reconciliation that moved viewers to tears. As Billy Crystal (Harry) told Meg Ryan (Sally): "I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with someone, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible."

Mary Evans/Ronald Grant/Everett Collection

16. Pretty Woman

"I don't kiss on the mouth," Vivian (Julia Roberts) warns Edward (Richard Gere) at the beginning of this 1990 movie. So when she does, it's pivotal-the audience understands that she's come to regard Edward as much more than a client. But even that kiss can't beat the one at the happy ending, after Edward "rescues" Vivian on her fire escape and she promises to "rescue him right back."

Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection

17. Ghost

Technically, in this scene from the 1990 film, Molly Jensen (Demi Moore) is making out with Oda Mae Brown (Whoopi Goldberg). But because Oda Mae is channeling Molly's late boyfriend Sam Wheat (Patrick Swayze), it's Sam that Molly-and the viewers-get to see.

Columbia Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection

18. The Age of Innocence

Just before their fateful kiss, Newland Archer (Daniel Day-Lewis) tells the married Countess Ellen Olenska (Michelle Pfeiffer), "Nothing’s done that can't be undone. I'm still free." But, as this 1993 adaptation of the Edith Wharton classic illustrates, no one was really free in 1870's New York society. They were all trapped by the expectations and dictates of the world in which they lived.

19. Shakespeare in Love

Granted, this 1998 movie isn't exactly what you'd call historically accurate. But it's great fun to imagine a young William Shakespeare (played by Joseph Fiennes) falling in love with a merchant's daughter (Gwyneth Paltrow) as he writes his romantic tragedy, Romeo and Juliet. Ultimately, the lovers must part, but not before sharing a passionate backstage adieu.

Courtesy Everett Collection

20. West Side Story

In this 1961 musical update of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer played the star-crossed pair. From the second they spotted each other on a crowded dance floor, they were enamored...and in sync.

New Line Cinema/Courtesy Everett Collection

21. Love and Basketball

The first kiss shared by the basketball-playing neighbors at the center of this 2000 movie is nothing to write home about: they're eleven and Quincy (Omar Epps) breaks up with Monica (Sanaa Lathan) seconds later. But that's only the beginning of a tempestuous relationship that spans a decade and a half as both pursue professional athletic careers. "Of all these girls," Quincy tells Monica in the scene above, "you're the only one that's for real."

Courtesy Columbia Pictures/ Everett Collection

22. Spider-Man

The upside-down kiss that Spider-Man (Tobey Maguire) shared with Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst) in this 2002 flick was breath-taking for Maguire, but not for the reasons you might think. "The whole time I had rainwater running up my nose," he said. "Then, when Kirsten rolled back the mask, she cut my air off completely."

Courtesy 20th Century Fox Film Corp./ Everett Collection

23. Mr. and Mrs. Smith

It's not exactly unusual for actors to fall in love on set, but when Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie coupled after playing married assassins in the 2005 movie Mr. and Mrs. Smith, it generated headlines around the world. Audiences flocked to the film for a chance to see the real-life pair smolder on-screen.

Fox Searchlight/courtesy Everett Collection

24. Slumdog Millionaire

It was easy to see why Jamal (Dev Patel) was so hung up on his childhood friend Latika (Freida Pinto). When they finally kiss on a Mumbai train platform, it's a moment as exuberantly optimistic as the goofy dance scene that follows. Bonus points for still being a couple to this off-screen day.

Summit Entertainment

25. Twilight

Even the most diehard members of Team Jacob can't deny the romantic power of Bella and Edward's first kiss. Kristen Stewart-who's almost uniformly closemouthed about her off-screen relationship with costar Robert Pattinson-did offer "I get to kiss Edward Cullen," when asked to name a few of her favorite things about the gig.

Up Next:

Titanic

Director James Cameron initially planned to cast "an Audrey Hepburn type" to play the female lead in this 1997 epic, and Leonardo DiCaprio nearly turned down his role. It's still captivating to see him woo Kate Winslet's Rose, even if, as DiCaprio said in a recent interview, kissing Kate is "like kissing a family member."
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